As we were watching closely what could be the next project by the man who made Whiplash and La La Land, came an extremely famous and historic story of Neil Armstrong's expedition to the moon in the form of cinematic tableau. What has Damien Chazelle brought to the table this time around?
From the get go, you're seated in the protagonist's headspace. Now, this may be a common, to an extent, compulsory technique utilized by screenwriters and directors to allow the audiences to not only understand but also feel the journey along with the lead character. But, in First Man, it's the length that Damien went in his filmmaking that amplified this crucial tool of storytelling! It's the way he has filmed this project! He successfully influenced us to experience through his unique eye on how's the process like to travel to space. The disorientation it gives. The panic it introduces. The dangers involved with it. And much more! All the first person point-of-views can shiver you! Such was the realism!
Gemini 8 launch, docking, detach from Agena, parachute submission that scrapes the grass floor and the entire climax featuring moon voyage, zero gravity, landing and Neil's first giant leap for mankind were immaculately printed onscreen! Furthermore, Damien managed to capture the sense of genuine wonderment when the surface of the moon was shown. Linus Sandgren's handheld camera provided the touch of reality and the grainy quality of the 1960s. Justin Hurwitz's background theme was titillating! Sound design deserves major praise as well.
Where First Man could have used some work of improvement was on the writing department. The primary drawback this movie had was the lackluster family drama. After Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his wife surfaced from the Greek tragedy that stroke them, there wasn't anything compelling anymore to watch there. This issue existed due to the absence of conflict in the family drama that resulted in contributing very little to the main plot. It's dry, pretty much! Because of this, one can't help but perceive that there isn't much to be told about this story. Not until the final confrontation between Janet (Claire Foy) and her husband that we felt instead of just noticing how she was part of the proceedings too and vice versa.
This is definitely not to say writer Josh Singer hasn't done a decent script here. Before sending off Neil Armstrong after the plot goal, Josh was able to earn the empathy and sympathy from us for his protagonist. You truly feel for Neil as he sobbed for his deceased baby girl! On top of that, when he lost his job, we're automatically prepared for a fresh start and new mission as the protagonist was. Infant dying of cancer, fire in the cockpit accident and almost-missed opportunity to the moon were great revelations. Doubts and worth of the whole agenda were thrown into the mix as well for an even debate. Surely, Josh permitted the audiences to put 2 and 2 together, as any good screenwriter would.
Neil Armstrong's tale of miracle was an international phenomenon. In other words, we know he won’t die before reaching the moon. And this prior knowledge can't avoid diluting any present danger the plot sets up for the protagonist. Moreover, death after death being shown repeatedly made us immune to it while watching the motion picture. Although Neil dropping Karen's memorabilia on the moon as a way of saying he has made peace with his past was a nicely photographed moment, we didn't feel the effect as the Ghost didn't tie-in well / connect / cancel out with the Plot Goal.